Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Happy Wednesday! Are you ready for the newest Paper Pretties challenge? This week we're asking you to make a "Thank You" card. My card used the "Giving Thanks, Sophia". Because of the big dress area this image is great for paper piecing which is my favorite technique. If you don't already have this stamp now would be a good time to buy her, she's on sale and it's a good bargain. This is a big week in our house. One of the kids and his fiance has moved here and another and her husband helped them drive down and now our house guests for the week. It was a long, big move for them but they are almost settled in and any day now their kitty kat may settle in too. So I've got to run to be the dutiful hostess.Here's the deets:stamp - Paper Pretties "Giving Thanks, Sophia"ink - Memento "Tuxedo Black"; MFT "Blue Raspberry"paper - Teresa Collins "Sweet Afternoon" (a gift from the Paper Pretties lady, thanks to Heather); Bazzill "Sunbeam" and MFT "Blue Raspberry"miscellaneous - copics; MFT "Oval Stax" and "Chevron Stripes" die-namics; Stampin' Up "Oval" and "Scalloped Ovals" punches; baker's twine; dew dropsHere's the challenges:Paper Pretties PWC269 - Thank YouPaper Playtime #15 - Pattern PaperCrafty Cardmakers #97 - 1,2,3 1 image, 2 patterned paper, 3 embellishments (brads, twine and dew drops)Speedy the Fox #170 - Tie It Up Sister Act #17 - Anything GoesThanks for stopping by, come back again.

Sunday, July 28, 2013

I love cupcakes and I love dogs, so getting them both at the same time is like a dream come true. These gorgeous cupcakes are the inspiration for this week's Cupcake Inspirations challenge CIC221.This week we're being sponsored by Bugaboo Stamps. Bugaboo is one of favorite companies. So much to choice from cute kiddies, fancy cupcakes, flowers, numbers, food, holidays,and crazy character including my favorite Stella. Stella has an attitude, she's snarky and she is my favorite but I do love JJ and Ruby too, oh and of course Gus. There's tons of fun images, if you haven't been there yet, you have to go there now. You'll be glad you did.

It's "Anything Goes" for our challenges at Pile It On this week and we've got Hambo Stamps for our sponsor. I had never checked out the Hambo web site before they sponsored us, Because I like funny cards I check out the details on the ones that get my intention. Most of the funny pig images I see are from Hambo so I am really happy to have a chance to work with a Hambo image. It was really difficult to pick just one image so I guess I'll be headed back to the Hambo store for some shopping.This image is "Monster Yell" and it looks like I often feel, if you're married with children you know what I mean. In case you can't tell from the photo the teeth and nails are covered with glossy accents and her spots are covered with stickles. Because i thought of this monster as female I colored her pink but I think the monster will look good in any color scheme. I can picture her in reds and greens for a Christmas card. Then there's the recipients favorite colors or how about a child's school colors. It's a very versatile image and I think it could be used for a card for an adult or child, masculine or feminine.Here's the deets:stamp - Hambo "Monster Yell" digiink - printerpaper - CloseTo My Heart "Dream Pop"miscellaneous - copics; My Favorite Things "Decorative Doily" and "Fishtail Flags Stax" die-namics; bling; dew drops; stickles; machine stitchingHere's the challenges:Pile It On #30 - Anything GoesStampin' For the Weekend - Sparkle and BlingSister Act #16 - Anything GoesCrafty Sentiments - Bling It OnC.R.A.F.T. #217 - For the GirlsTop Tip Tuesday - #106 - Spooled ItemsCrafts and Me #139 - Anything GoesRuby's Rainbow #59 - Layer It UpPaper Playtime #15 - Pattern PaperCutie Pie #4 - Pretty in PinkThanks for stopping by, come back again.

Friday, July 26, 2013

I love Christmas in July challenges because they give me that push I need to get to work on those cards before it's crunch time. At Jellypark Friends we're having that challenge for the next two weeks. This week we're also releasing a new line of Christmas images. If you haven't visited our blog or our shop today then you have to go there after you finish here.

This card was made with one of the Christmas images from last year. Here's the deets:stamp - Jellypark Friends "Polar Bear"ink - printerpaper - Basic Grey "Mistletoe and Pear" padmiscellaneous - copics; stickles; baker's twine; tree charm; bling; My Favorite Things "Oval Stax" and "Fishtail Flags Stax" die-namicsHere's the challenges:Jellypark Friends - Christmas in JulyTerrifically Thrilling Thursday - Show Us What You Got, Christmas in JulySouthern Girls #74 - Animal AnticsCreative Belli #174 - Christmas (I got this paper pack for Christmas when I was still living in NJ, I moved from there in 2010)Crafting for All Seasons #57 - Christmas in JulyThis is another card made with one of last year's Christmas images:

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Oops! So sorry for the late post, if you were looking for the Wednesday Paper Pretties Challenge post, here it is at last.This has been quite a busy week for me and it looks next week is going to be busy too. This week it's been time to do grown up stuff. Yuk! Next week we'll have house guests. That's sure to be more fun. But I digress...This week the Paper Pretties Challenge PWC268 is "Paper Piecing". That's one of my favorite techniques and it's been a while since I've done it so this was fun for me. I hope you'll play along with us. When you're finished making your card link it up to the challenge so you can be in the running for the prize. Winner gets to pick five digis at the Paper Pretties store.

Friday, July 19, 2013

Every other Friday, the Friday between challenges, at Jellypark Friends it's Spotlight day . We pick an image, some of the design team post a card and we invite you to share your creations made with this image. It doesn't have to be a new creation, if you made it today or a year ago we'd love to see it. Leave a comment on this post with a link to your creation. That's all there is to it. Did you ever get a smudge on the image you just spent hours coloring? I hope you aren't tossing them out. After all your hard work you want to show it off but that nasty smudge just looks terrible. Well, smudges are just an opportunity to dig into your stash of embellishments. If you haven't guessed, there's an ugly smudge on the top left corner of the image panel. I happen to have that neat button to use but if I didn't I could have used a photo corner or a sentiment spot. If you can't come up with an embellishment idea, try fussy cutting. Here's the deets: stamp - Jellypark Friends - Ice Cream Van digiink - printerpaper - My Favorite Things "Nightshift Blue" card stock; Stampin' Up "Specialty Sweet Shop" patterned papermiscellaneous - copics, ice cream cone button (shank removed); baker's twine; ruffled gingham ribbon; ice cream cone charm

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

This week Paper Pretties is challenging you to "Use a Sentiment as Your Focal Point". These cards are a favorite of mine because you can make them quickly and you can use lots of your pretty embellishments to fancy them up. My card uses one of the Irish Blessings to make a "thinking of you" card. This sentiment would also be good for a sympathy card, it just needs to be toned down a little, maybe a simple black and white paper and skip the pearls and lace.Here's the deets:stamp - Paper Pretties "Irish Blessings"Ink - Memento "Cottage Ivy"paper - Recollections "Itsy, Bitsy Ditsy - Cherry Pie" patterned paper; My Favorite Things "Pink Lemonade" and "Smooth White" card stockmiscellaneous - ribbon; lace; ribbon flower; ZVA pearl flourish; pearls, Spellbinder's "Oval" and "Labels 18" dies; machine stitchingHere's the challenges:Paper Pretties PWC267 - Sentiment as Focal PointSplitcoast Stampers FS336 - Featured StamperTuesday Throwdown #156 - Anything GoesThe Squirrel and the Fox #48 - Use Something SpooledThanks for stopping by, come back again.

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Wowsers! Look at all these cupcakes. Those are the inspiration for this week's Cupcake Inspirations Challenge CIC219. This week we have one of our regular sponsors back - Fresh Brewed Designs. My favorite images are the coffee cups. So many of my friends and relatives are avid coffee drinkers so the coffee images are perfect for the cards I make for them. But this week Fresh Brewed has shared some beach/marine life images with us. You should check out what the rest of the design team has created and then visit the Fresh Brewed store. You can never have too many digis.

I had a lot of fun making this card. I do love a seascape and the summer colors. For the background I used "Under the Sea" and then I made a couple "Flirty Fish" in different sizes which I cut out and popped up on dimensionals. If I made a large card or project I could have added some starfish, turtles and crabs, all of those images are available at the Fresh Brewed store.

At the end of this post I am going to share with you a drawing I made many years ago. If you read down to the end of the post you'll see that I've had this love for many years. Since the drawing is signed with my maiden name I know that it's from the early 80's. Seems like some loves are lifelong loves.Here's the deets:stamp - Fresh Brewed Designs "Flirty Fish" and "Under the Sea"ink - printerpaper - Bazzill "Whirlpool" and "Glow" card stock; Imaginisce "Splash Dance- Bathing Beauties and Water Words"miscellaneous - copics; stickles; Stampin' Up So Saffron ribbon; blow fish charm; bling; baker's twineHere's the challenges:Cupcake Inspirations CIC219 - photoCrazy For Challenges C4C194 - Marine LifeOne Stop Craft #234 - Summer Colors2 Sisters - Make It SparkleSister Act #15 - Anything GoesPolka Doodles week 28 - Summer FunJust Add Ink JAI173 - Just Add WaterCrafty Ribbons #52 - Anything Goes with RibbonChocolate, Coffee and Cards - #42 - Life's a BeachFriday Mash Up #118 - Nature Theme and/or colors - Pool Party, Crisp Cantaloupe, Calypso Coral, Smokey Slate and Soft SuedeAnd now for those of you who have hung in here this long, here's my drawing. It was done with Prismacolor pencils.

We've got a new challenge at Pile It On. This week the theme is "Water". 2013 is the International year of Water Cooperation. Now if you're as ill informed as me you're probably saying to yourself "what the heck is the year of water cooperation?" I can't let stuff like that go so I did a search to find out what it is. If you're interested here's a link to one of the sites that will tell you about it. Now back to our challenge. This week we're sponsored by Jellypark Friends. The winner will be able to pick 2 digis from the store (with the exception of the fund raiser images). I can't say enough good things about Jellypark Friends. I love the images. I can sit and color these images for hours on end. There's an image for any kind of card or project you want to make. When you visit the store your cart will be full in no time. To be in the running for the prize you just have to make a card with the theme of "water" and link it up to Pile It On and at least one other challenge. So go get your crafting stash out and get busy.Here's the deets:stamp - Jellypark Friends Mermaid; My Favorite Things "Daring Dots" and "Washi Patterns"ink - printer for image; My Favorite Things "Razzleberry" and "Kraft" for backgroundspaper - My Favorite Things "Kraft", "Blu Raspberry" and "Razzleberry" card stock; Stampin' Up "So Saffron" card stockmiscellaneous - copics; stickles; baker's twine; sand dollar charm; Cuttlebug embossing folderHere's the Challenges:Pile It On #28 - WaterSplitcoast Stampers Sketch Challenge SC444 - SketchColor Throwdown CTD250 - Bermuda Bay, Crumb Cake, Melon Mambo, So SaffronSister Act #15 - Anything GoesPolka Doodles week 28 - Summer FunJust Add Ink JAI173 - Just Add Water (the swirly embossing is meant to be water)Ruby's Rainbow #58 - Embossing, Ribbon and Self Made BP (using baker's twine for ribbon)Paper Shelter #120 - Swirly Girly (the embossed layer is swirls)Charisma #27 - No Designer PaperCrafty Ribbons #52 - Anything Goes with Ribbon (using baker's twine)Splitcoast Stampers Ways to Use It WT435 - Hardware, Any Metal EmbellishmentA Gem of a Challenge #87 - Lots of LayersChocolate, Coffee and Cards #43 - Life's a BeachCreative Corner #27 - Anything GoesTop Tip Tuesday #105 - Hexagon and/or CirclesCrafts and Me #138 - Anything Goes2 Sisters - Make It SparkleOne Stop Craft #234 - Summer ColorsTotally Gorjuss #192 - Sweet (sweet edibles or just plain old sweet looking)Crazy for Challenges C4C194 - Marine Life

Friday, July 12, 2013

There's a new challenge at Jellypark Friends. Our theme is "Give Thanks". We want to see projects where you are thanking someone, in fact anyone. It can be a teacher, a friend, a loved one, anyone as long as you are thanking them. The image on my card "Boy with Apple" would be perfect for a Teacher's Appreciation card. For those of you with daughters Claire has also drawn a "Girl with Apple" and it's equally cute. I don't know about you but that big ole apple is making me think about having a piece of apple cake so I guess I better finish up here fast cause I'm going to have to make that cake before I can eat it. Here's the deets:stamp - Jellypark Friends "Boy with Apple" digiink - printerpaper - My Favorite Things "Gumdrop Green" and "Nightshift Blue" card stock; October Afternoon "Report Card" patterned papermiscellaneous - copics; brads; buttons; twine; cord; apple charmHere's the challenges:Jellypark Friends - Give ThanksSplitcoast Stampers Ways To Use It WT435 - Hardware (Use Any Metal Embellishment)Paper Playtime #14 - TagsCrafting for All Seasons #56 - Bingo (buttons, digi image, ribbons/twine)Thanks for stopping by, come back again.

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

It's time for the new Paper Pretties challenge PWC266. This week it's monochromatic. So pick your favorite color and use it. You can use as many shades of that color as you like, and if you're using an image that's a person you can color the skin and hair in appropriate colors but everything else needs to be in one color. Of course if you choose to you can make the skin and hair the same color you choose for the rest of the card, think of all those Sesame Street puppets - no one cares that they are blue and green and whatever. For my card I'm using one of my favorite characters, Sophia. She's one of the most popular lines at Paper Pretties. This set is Surprise Sophia. It's perfect for a birthday card and since it comes with 4 other sentiments it also works for any celebration. Here's the deets:stamp - Paper Pretties "Surprise Sophia"ink - Memento "Tuxedo Black" and VersaMagic "Pink Petunia"paper - Bazzill "Vintage Pink" card stock; Close To My Heart "Chantilly" paper packmiscellaneous - copics; candy dots; My Favorite Things "Fishtail Flags Stax" and "Oval Stax" die-namicsHere's the challenges:Paper Pretties PWC266 - MonochromaticUse It Tuesday #59 - Birthdays (the candy dots are a couple years old, they are truly hoarded, I love them so much I really hate to use them)Ladybug Crafts Ink - BirthdaysOozak #17 - Anything Goes with a Girlie ThemeAn Inky Situation #1 - Anything GoesCard Makin' Mamas CMM72 - MonochromaticThanks for stopping by, come back again.

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Look at that icing. I like the icing more than the cake so whenever the Cupcake Inspirations Challenge photo has a cuppie with fluffy, swirly icing it makes me drool. Fortunately that's figuratively and not literally, otherwise I'd have shorted out my laptop years ago. This week we have a return sponsor, DRS Designs. There's something for everybody and every occasion at DRS Designs so you should get out your supplies and start making your card now. You could be the lucky winner.

This week if the photo isn't inspirational you can use the color palette. Me, I try to do both, I think I nailed it this week. The cupcakes have lemon wedges for a garnish, and that's what inspired me to use the "Lemonade" image. I like the "Just a Note" sentiment because it's so universal. You can use it for any occasion or just for the heck of it. The papers were picked to match the color palette. I've been doing a lot of fussy cutting lately, which I did with this image. It's propped up on dimensionals. I love that look. Do you like the button treatment? One of the ladies at Splitcoast Stampers used it last year and I finally remembered to use it here.She got the idea from this Pinterest (feel free to knock around my boards) photo. Here's the deets:stamp - DRS Designs "Lemonade" and "Just a Note" sentimentink - printerpaper - Stampin' Up "So Saffron" card stock; all other papers Making Memories "English Garden" padmiscellaneous - copics; Candy Dots; My Favorite Things "Rounded Banner Stax", "Fancy Flourish" and "Dizzy Doily" die-namics; buttons; baker's twineHere's the challenges:Cupcake Inspirations CIC218 - photoTotally Gorguss #191 - Anything Goes with CirclesOne Stop Crafts #233 - Anything GoesThanks for stopping by, come back again.

Saturday, July 6, 2013

The July challenge at the Cat's Pajamas is "Tag It" with the stipulation that the tag is hand made. I'm not very comfortable with tags. Mostly I use little ones I've punched for sentiments. This year one of my resolutions was to push myself to work on things that are out of my comfort zone, so I'm making cards with tags. Well, I've made two, it remains to be seen if I'll get around to another.I was having an over the edge kind of day, as you can see the bunny ears are over the edge of the oval die and the banner and tag hang over the edge of the card. I made the tag and mat by cutting a rectangle, measuring a quarter of an inch from the corners on the top side, drawing a diagonal line through the quarter inch spots and cutting the outer section off. The banner is part of the design paper. I cut it out and placed upside down on the pink card stock, traced around the edges and then cut a smidge away from the lines to make the mat. The cup and spoon on the tag were also fussy cut from the dp.Here's the deets:stamp - the Cat's Pajamas "A Girl and Her Cake" and "Small Sayings"ink - Memento "Tuxedo Black" and My Favorite Things "Razzle Berry"paper - Bazzill "Sunbean" and "Sweetheart"; Imaginations "Renai Lindgrun" patterned papermiscellaneous - copics; My Favorite Things "Oval Stax" die-namics; baker's twine; circle punch; sticklesHere's the challenges:the Cat's Pajamas TCPTUESJul13- Tag You're ItOne Stop Craft #233 - Anything GoesSister Act #14 - Anything GoesStampin' Royalty #183 - Anything GoesThanks for stopping by, come back again.

Friday, July 5, 2013

It's the weekend! Wohoo! and if you're a lucky ducky you're having a nice long holiday weekend. Here in the United States it's 4th of July weekend. For me that means lots of birthdays, my hubby, good buddy Eileen, and sweet MFT lady Kim. I hope you all are having a good time despite the weather. From what I've been reading on blogs and seeing on TV if you're anywhere on the east coast you're getting lots of rain. We've had so much rain here on the Gulf Coast of Florida it's been pouring for a week. Not your typical Florida rain that lasts for 15 minutes and then the sun comes out and you'd never know it rained. This rain just goes on and on, it lets up for a bit but then it comes back like gangbusters. But I digress...If you're here you're probably a paper crafter. It's time for the new Stampin' for the Weekend challenge. We've got a pink and green photo inspiration for you. Isn't that just a wonderful room. I'd move in. But again I digress. This fortnight we have Saturated Canary for our sponsor. What a great sponsor. The images are so much fun to color and use in cards. I can't imagine anyone not wanting to have some of these digis in their stash. So get busy making a card for this challenge,

My card uses "Dreads". I've always loved the variety of ways African Americans can style their hair. This young lady reminds me of some of my NJ friends who were very hip and always had the best and latest hair styles. If you're Rastafarian it's a religious thing and you just grow them forever. None of my friends were rasta. I'd watch them start with short hair which looks really good in the twists. Since they weren't rasta they could change styles at will and none of them ever went much longer than shoulder length. I wasn't sure I'd be able to color the dreads well but I think in the end they look pretty good. I'll be anxious to see what my friends think.Here's the deets:stamp - Saturated Canary "Dreads" digiink - printerpaper - Close To My Heart "Chantilly" packmiscellaneous - copics; flower stickers; bling; ribbon, twine; peace sign charm; Viva glitter liner "Peridot"Here's the challenges:Stampin' for the Weekend - Pink and Green Photo inspirationSaturated Canary #47 - CelebrationCraftin' for All Seasons #55 - Make It GirlyWhoopsie Daisy - Let's Get GirlyThe Ribbon Reel #56 - Candy Colours

Thursday, July 4, 2013

If you've read all my blog posts (and let's face it, even I wouldn't read them all if I hadn't written them) you know that tags are not on my list of favorite things. The only ones I use regularly are little ones that have a sentiment on them. This month Alma has chosen "tags" for the Cat's Pajamas challenge. Oh Alma, I thought you liked me. AND they have to be hand made tags, no store bought ones. OK, one of my resolutions this year is to do things I usually shy away from, and among them would be tags. I've got a pretty long list and I've been working at crafting them. I'll be pushing myself to enter this challenge more than once just to get some more tags made. Maybe I can figure create a monochromatic masculine card with a tag and a fancy fold. You never know...Here's the deets:stamp - The Cat's Pajamas "What's Mew?" and "Small Sayings"ink - Brilliance "Graphite Black" and Memento "Bamboo Leaves"paper - Recollections Neutrals card stock; Paper Pizzazz "Wild Things Leopard"miscellaneous - copics; card; the Cat's Pajamas "Toppers" and "Small Sayings" Cut Ups (dies); BlingHere's the challenges:the Cat's Pajamas TCPTUESJul13 - Tag You're ItSouthern Girls - Leaves It OutDelightful Challenges - Into the WildOne Stitch at a Time #170 - Anything Goes

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

This week's Paper Pretties Challenge PWC265 is quite timely, it's "Red, White and Blue". With tomorrow being the 4th of July I'll have to do eeny, meenie, miney, moe to decide who to give this one to. I've got a couple friends and a husband with birthdays on the 4th of July. You may not have any friends or relatives with birthdays on the 4th of July but you probably know somebody that's having a bar-be-cue. Since it's customary to bring a dish with you to the cook out why not attach a card to it. You can go all out and pick up a decorated plate or container for your dish. There's usually a selection of inexpensive dishes at Michael's, TJ Maxx and Home Goods. I'm sure there are other places you can pick one up without breaking your budget. I like to do that so that I don't have to think about getting it back and the hostess doesn't have to worry about who left which dish behind. Here's the deets:stamp - Paper Pretties "Holiday Sweets 1" and "Birthday Sentiments"ink - Memento "Tuxedo Black" and "Nautical Blue"paper - Bazzill "Grenadine Red", "Snow White" and "Sunbeam" card stock; Recollections "Blue Gingham" patterned papermiscellaneous - copics; EK Success "Swiss Cheese" border punch; Spellbinder's "Circle" and "Inverted Scalloped Circle" dies; bling; Viva Glitter Liner "Yellow Quartz"; ribbonHere's the challenges:Paper Pretties PWC265 - Red, White and BlueSplitcoast Stampers Color Challenge CC433 - Real Red, White, Night of NavyRibbon Carousel RCC83 - Celebrate your heritage, show your country pride and celebrationsColor Q #196 - Real Red, More Mustard, Night of Navy, Crumb Cake and Whitethe Pink Elephant TPE206 - photoPaper Playtime #13 - Red, White and BlueKaboodle Doodle #178 - National Day or Flag Colors

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

It's summer time and "Summer Fun" is the theme for this week's Bronte and Bella (Mo Manning's) challenge. I haven't made time to make a "Mo" card in awhile so this was fun for me and it's summer - this is getting redundant.This is being entered into "Use It Tuesdays". They want you to use up your hoarded stash. I've got lots of stuff that meets that requirement. The sentiment sticker was part of a gift I received just before I moved - 3 years ago. I stopped buying ribbon over a year ago because I fear that I have more than enough to last me for the rest of my life! The twine was purchased when twine first hit the scene and it was being sold as large spools. I chipped in with four of my buddies, we each picked a color and when it came we broke each color into 4 parts. Again, that was before I moved 3 years ago. Do you see a pattern here?Here's the deets:stamp - Mo's Digital Pencil "Pool Party" digiink - printerpaper - Bazzill "Whirpool", "Apricot" and "Glow" card stock; Imaginisce "Splash Dance - Bubble Bath" and "Splash Dance - Bathing Beauties"miscellaneous - copics; EK Success "Beach" border punch; ribbon; baker's twine; fish charm; square bling; Reminisce "Surf Shop" stickersHere's the challenges:Bronte and Bella's #191 - Summer FunTuesday Morning Sketches #205- sketchUse It Tuesday #58 - Bring on the SunPapertake Weekly -Anything Goes with optional include animals/creaturesGoing Grey with Scrap Creations - Ribbons and BowsThanks for stopping by, come back again.